


Day 2- Stimming

by Broken_Clover



Series: Autistic Creative Challenge 2019 [2]
Category: Guilty Gear
Genre: Autism Spectrum, Autistic Creative Challenge, ESRB-Verse, Gen, Stimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-01 11:29:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18334163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Broken_Clover/pseuds/Broken_Clover
Summary: Sin isn't used to seeing Bedman so happy.





	Day 2- Stimming

While the ultimate goal was just to have fun and pass the time, Elphelt, Sin, Ramlethal, and Bedman liked to take turns picking locations to go to for their frequent adventures. It was still something that everyone could enjoy in their own way, but if someone caught sight of a park that they’d yet to visit or an event going on downtown that caught their eye, the group would set a course for their new destination as soon as possible, taking turns each time.

Well, that was how it was supposed to go. In between Sin’s forest hikes, Ram’s lunch suggestions, and El’s marketplace trips, it was rare that Bedman would slip in his own idea. It wasn’t for lack of opportunity- his friends made it very clear that he was more than welcome to suggest something he’d like to do. But every time the discussion came up, the boy shot it down, claiming that his interests would be too dull for anyone else to enjoy it.

After more than a few attempts, Sin took it upon himself to try something that he thought his friend would like. It only seemed fair for him to be able to do things that interested him. After mentioning his plans to Elphelt and Ramlethal, the half-Gear grabbed as many newspapers as he could find lying around and retreated to the dining room table with a thick red marker.

A local football game? Eh...

Camping? He definitely wouldn’t like that.

A new winery opening up? Legally speaking, none of them were old enough to drink.

“Sin?” Ky’s voice grabbed his attention. “What are you working on?”

“Trying to think of something fun to do today.” He propped himself up on his arms. “But I can’t think of anything that Bedman would like. We never get to do stuff he likes.”

“Hmm…” Ky sat down nearby him, placing a stack of paperwork on the table. “Let’s see. I see your friend in the library quite often. He’s very interested in the sciences, correct?”

Sin perked up, just a little. “Yeah? You got an idea?”

“Let me take a look at that paper.” After being handed the bundle, Ky started flipping through. His eyes skimmed the pages rapidly, quickly settling on an article somewhere within it and tapping it with a finger. “I thought so. The museum of science over in the east district is opening a new exhibit on magical engineering. Lots of old airship frames and train prototypes, that kind of thing. Maybe that would be a good idea?”

“Engineering?” Sin took the paper back, now marked with a red circle. The article at least made it sound interesting. Plus, it was something sciency, so there was a pretty good chance Bedman would at least find the concept interesting.

Worth a shot, right?

++++++

“Sin, where are we going?”

Midday travels weren’t really out of the ordinary, but it wasn’t as common that nobody would say where they were headed off to. Even after spending ten minutes trudging downtown, Bedman hadn’t even manage to decipher whose sort of idea it was to go out in the first place.

“It’s a surprise!” Replied Sin, the closest thing to an answer he had gotten thus far.

“I don’t like surprises, Sin. Can you please just tell me where we’re going?”

“Hmph. Fine.” The other boy pouted. “We’re going to a museum. But that’s all I’m telling you!”

Despite the vagueness, Bedman perked up considerably. “Oh. I will admit, that is a rather pleasant surprise.”

“See, Sin? I told you it was a good idea!” Elphelt added with a smile. “We picked it special!”

“Sin picked it.” Said Ramlethal. “We just agreed.”

The person in question raised a hand, waving it to get their attention. “Hey, I think I found it! Right down this corner…”

“G’morning, kiddos!” A smiley attendant greeted the group at the front booth as they entered. “Welcome to the Illyria Museum of Science! Four adolescent tickets?”

“Yep!” Sin slapped down a stack of cash that Ky had given him. “You guys have all the engines and stuff, right?”

The woman blinked mutely for a moment. “Ah. Yes, the transportation engineering exhibit is up and running.” She handed him a map and pointed to a spot on it, marked with a little star. “It’s on the first floor, in the blue wing. There’s arrows at most of the corners if you lose track of where you are.”

“Cool, thanks!” After grabbing the tickets and the map, Sin spun around. “Everyone alright? Ready to go?”

“I think so.” Elphelt replied. “You guys ready?”

“I’m prepared to go.” Ram nodded.

“I’m ready.” Oddly, Bedman seemed at full attention, and his hands almost seemed to be twitching.

Elphelt turned to him. “Something wrong?”

“No, no.” His hands slowed, gripping the hem of his gown to keep them from moving again. “Just got a bit overexcited.”

“Well, don’t stop yourself on our account!” Sin beamed back. “We came here because we thought you’d like it! Go nuts if you want!”

Though his hands stayed still, Bedman all but ran ahead of the group as they started towards the exhibit. He kept slowing himself down as his friends looked over little displays on the way to the blue wings, bouncing restlessly on his heels until they could start moving again.

The narrow hallway dumped out into a massive room, with a vaulted ceiling spanning overhead at least thirty feet up. The room was filled with giant displays, many with full-sized engines or twining bundles of cable and machinery. An inert train snaked across the center, trailed by a dozen passenger cars.

“Ah…” Without even appearing to notice, Bedman started bouncing on his heels again, hands twitching and tapping against the air.

“C’mon, we said you could go ahead!” Sin was quick to remind him. “No need to wait for us!”

The boy didn’t seem to need any more prompting. In a flash of lavender, he was leaning towards one of the glass-walled sections displaying a set of rusty train wheels and pistons. “Ahh! I’ve only seen these in books! I don’t think they’ve used this type of metal since the 2070’s!”

“Solid steel?” Ramlethal managed to glide up next to him, and peered at the little descriptor card. “It seems that would be remarkably heavy.”

“Absolutely! And it was, that’s why they got rid of that kind. But they pulled these off of a real prewar train!”

Apparently satisfied with that short explanation, he moved onto the section next to it, leaving the other three for once scrambling after him, instead of the other way around.

“The Stendrive outboard propulsion system? They used these for boats! Engineers sometimes called them ‘fishtail engines’ because of the big fins at the end of it!”

It was such a bizarre sight to witness, but it brought a warm feeling with it. Bedman was running back and forth between displays, eyes shining while he wore the biggest smile any of them had ever seen on him. All the while, he kept bouncing in place, hands swishing back and forth by his sides. Every time he stopped in front of a new engine or propeller, he raised his hands up and started moving them like he was trying to shake off water.

“The Hercules Engine!” He half shouted, immediately scooting over to the next pane of glass.

“The model M-89 airship!” Bounce-flap-flap.

“The Wiseau Magi-tech converter!” Bounce-flap-flap.

“You really like engineering stuff, huh?” Sin laughed, trying to keep pace.

“Oh, I don’t like engineering as much as I like language and literature.” Bedman slowed for a second. “But this is incredibly fascinating, too! I like learning about how society and industry move around. It’s just so intriguing to consider all the technologies that lead us to where we are now!”

Before he could reply, Sin found himself left behind once more. When he managed to find Bedman again, he was hanging off the end of the giant train on display.

“Hey, Sin! Sin! The sign says you can get on the train! Get on the train!”

“No need to tell me twice. Guys! Check this thing out! Wanna see the inside?”

Internally, he jotted down a few notes. Engineering, language, and literature. Even if Sin didn’t know much about any of them, he was certainly going to have to now. He wasn’t used to seeing his friend so earnestly happy. 

He was going to have to find a way to make him light up like that again.


End file.
